Chapter 105: I Have a Request

"You should have some restrictions in place regarding artificial intelligence, shouldn't you?"

Harvey glanced at Tony upon hearing his words. Tony was, after all, a mad scientist—the very man who would create Ultron.

At this stage, the Avengers had not yet been fully assembled, and Harvey himself might not always be on Earth. If Tony were to create something like Ultron prematurely, triggering an AI rebellion, even if it were ultimately stopped, it would still cause massive casualties. Therefore, Harvey felt it was necessary to give Tony a warning.

"How could I not know the limits of my own creations?" Tony said with complete confidence. "Jarvis's deep-level programming has numerous restrictions to ensure he remains absolutely loyal to me."

"As long as you are sure. I don't need to tell you, you must have watched plenty of science fiction movies," Harvey said, seeing Tony's relaxed demeanor. He offered only a brief warning and did not press the matter further. "If an AI crisis breaks out, even if it's contained, casualties will be inevitable."

"I understand." Tony nodded, his eyes flickering slightly at the mention of an AI crisis.

Seeing that Tony was genuinely considering it, Harvey dropped the subject. He had only brought it up out of a slight concern; he wasn't truly worried.

After all, the underlying reason the original Tony created Ultron was that he had been limited by his fragile human body. He was constantly fighting on the front lines despite his severely lacking combat power. This drove him to build an iron legion, controlled by an AI that would fight on the front lines in his stead.

But now, Tony believed in the Void. As long as he continued to evolve, it was only a matter of time before his own physical body became far more powerful than any iron armor. When that time came, anyone who managed to tear apart Tony's armor would only then face true terror.

This made Harvey look forward to the day Tony met Captain America. He wondered how the Captain would react when he discovered that the man beneath the iron suit was incredibly powerful in his own right.

Realizing where his thoughts were wandering, Harvey did a quick mental calculation of the timeline. He realized Captain America would probably wake up in about a year.

Once Captain America woke up, Harvey wouldn't need to recruit him actively. After the Captain witnessed the wonders of the modern world and the existence of the Void, if he desired power, he would naturally seek Harvey out.

If the Captain didn't seek him out, Harvey wouldn't take the initiative to find him either. If seeing the power of the Void failed to sway Captain America or make him yearn for its power, then no amount of persuasion from Harvey would make a difference.

Captain America was different from Tony. When Harvey first recruited Tony, Tony was just an ordinary man whose mindset had only recently begun to shift. He had created a technological marvel in the Iron Man suit, but he had yet to see the wider universe.

If Tony differed from ordinary people, it was only because he was exceptionally smart and incredibly wealthy. But intelligence and wealth were not the deciding factors. The key was that Tony, at the time, was merely a genius inventor and billionaire who had not yet witnessed the true scale of the cosmos. Furthermore, Tony had someone he cared about deeply. Once he knew Harvey was willing to give Pepper the chance to believe in the Void, Tony had readily agreed.

Captain America, on the other hand, was a relic of a bygone era. His mindset lagged behind the modern age, and he lacked Tony's ambition to live longer just to realize his potential.

More importantly, in this modern era, the woman Captain America loved was gone, and he had no friends or companions he could turn to. His only friend and partner was Bucky, the Winter Soldier, with whom he would have complications later on.

Having experienced the loss of his friends and loved ones, and possessing few attachments or grand ambitions that required time to fulfill, immortality might actually be a form of torture for Captain America. Therefore, Harvey would not actively recruit him. However, if Captain America did desire to join the Void, Harvey would still grant him the opportunity.

Seeing that Harvey had dropped the subject, Tony made a mental note to ensure he never crossed that line without the means to control the consequences.

"By the way, Harvey, can you tell me what you did in space over the past few months?" Tony asked, finally voicing the question that had been lingering in his mind.

"Nothing much. I just established the Void Cult to spread the faith of the Void to more people," Harvey replied casually. He had intended to bring this up with Tony anyway, so there was no reason to hide it now that Tony had asked.

"Established the Void Cult?" Tony's heart skipped a beat, his mind racing. He asked with growing excitement, "Does that mean I have companions now?"

"You should refer to them as members," Harvey replied, instantly throwing cold water on Tony's excitement. He knew from Tony's expression that the billionaire was already thinking of rallying the other members of the Void Cult to help Earth when the time came. "Whether they are your companions is hard to say. As you know, once someone believes in the Void, I don't bind them with many rules."

"It's precisely because there are no restrictions that I'm interested," Tony smiled, undeterred by Harvey's dampening words. "This means that if I form alliances with them, I can ask for their help, right? You wouldn't stop the friends I make from helping Earth, would you?"

Tony knew that the easiest way to get the Void Cult to help Earth was to ask Harvey directly. However, Harvey had a terrible impression of S.H.I.E.L.D. and American politicians. Based on what Tony knew of Harvey, the most Harvey would do was refrain from actively destroying Earth, provided no one provoked him. Relying on Harvey to protect Earth was out of the question.

Furthermore, Tony clearly remembered Harvey mentioning that during the crisis of 2017, humanity would unite with various alien races to face the enemy. This meant the scale of the conflict would be massive, offering plenty of opportunities for alliances.

"If you can convince them, I certainly won't stop you," Harvey said nonchalantly, though a gleam flashed in his eyes. He had originally intended to guide Tony toward venturing into space, but he hadn't expected Tony to bring it up himself. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Earth is not their home. If you bring them here without a guaranteed way to keep them in check, it might not turn out to be a good thing for Earth."

"Of course I know that," Tony replied with a smile, taking a seat in a chair beside Harvey, relieved that Harvey didn't plan to interfere. "But as long as they aren't completely devoid of desire, they can be swayed if the price is right, can't they?"

Although joining the Void and gaining the ability to evolve had made him stronger and stronger, Tony never forgot that while he was a genius scientist, he was also one of Earth's wealthiest men. Generating wealth was one of his greatest talents.

"You may be rich, but Earth's currency is useless in the cosmos," Harvey remarked meaningfully.

"I know that. Compared to the powerful civilizations of the universe, Earth's human civilization is merely a low-level one," Tony said. "It's only natural to adapt to the currency systems of advanced civilizations. Which is why, Harvey, I have a request."

Tony was well aware of this. He had already planned for it, but he needed Harvey's permission first.